The most authentic Christmas movie I've ever seen. No Christmas magic coming to the rescue in the last reel. Just real people coming together to eat and drink and be merry. Never heard of this hidden gem until I ran across it on Amazon Prime last night. Every year I look for new Christmas movies to watch but rarely do I find one that's good enough to add to my already heavily laden holiday playlist. But here's one that's a…

Probably my third review of this movie. Arguably the most rewatchable film ever made. It is for me anyway. I watch a lot of true crime shows. Especially those revolving around organized crime, i.e., The Mafia. Tonight it was a show about the Jimmy Burke crew that took down the Luftanza heist. At the time the biggest cash haul in American history. All made possible because of a low level street hood named Henry Hill. An associate of Jimmy Burke…

Don't you love coming upon a movie you've never heard of before with no expectations at all? And then, lo and behold, you're blown away! The longer you've been a cinephile the less often this occurs. In fact, this is the last movie where that occurred for me. Being an avid Christmas movie watcher, and who's seen just about everything related to the holiday, I'm always on the lookout for something new and fresh that's NOT on the Hallmark channel.…

I've pondered a while on what should be my last review on Letterboxd. For some time now I've felt a need to put a period on this phase of my life. I don't do any social media besides Letterboxd, because it all feels so much like ego massage to me. Letterboxd can be that way, too, if you let it become more about what others think of your opinions. Rather than an outlet for your own thoughts and feelings. Without…

I have watched just about every documentary on the subject of World War Two and particularly the rise and fall of the Nazi State in Europe. Just to name a very few: "The World at War." Ken Burns' excellent "The War." "The Nazis: A Warning from History." "Apocalypse: the Second World War." And my personal favorite up till now, "World War Two in Color." And like so many armchair historians who tune into these shows, I favor myself a knowledgeable…

One of my favorite TV shows is an Australian crime drama called Mr. Inbetween. About a hitman who just happens to be a loving father to a seven year old daughter. Scott Ryan stars as Ray Shoesmith, a man with many hats and faces. Like Tony Soprano, Ray has a code he lives by and woe be unto those who break that code while crossing his path. And also like Tony Soprano, Ray has anger control issues that have caused…

In honor of the late great Olivia Hussy. I was SIX freaking years old when my sister took me to see this the year it came out! She was supposed to take me to see "The One and Only Genuine Family Band". A G rated Disney picture. Instead, I'm subjected to young nubile love and Shakespeare at the incomprehensible age of six. Thankfully, I have no actual memories of the traumatic event. The story is one that's passed around the…

"Certainty." Sometimes it takes the strangest things in life to adequately articulate what you've had trouble giving voice to in your walk as a Christian. Or Jew. Or Buddhist. Pick your faith, brother. For me, though, I've always balked at anyone or any church that professes to know with certainty the mind and will of God. That sort of arrogance is not only off-putting but telling in the extreme. The same can be said of politics, but for once I'll…

About what I expected. Like a slow ride through your old hometown, pointing out all the places to your kids where you grew up, went to school, scraped your knee, broke a window playing baseball, or knocked up their mother on Lover's Lane. Great to see all the familiar sights from your childhood, and yet everything seems somehow smaller and much less substantial. Your old pal Beetlejuice is more or less the same and that indeed makes the long trip…